Disclamer: I don't own Beyblade or the characters. But I do own the plot.
A/N: Here is chapter 10, hope you all like it! :)
Time felt like it had slowed down for the shocked brunette. Her ruby eyes widened when Kai's crimson eyes focused on her. He hadn't changed much from the last time she had seen him. Kai looked as handsome as always wearing his trademark scarf and face paint. Her heart began to speed up as he approached the group. Kai was back, but why?
"Kai, I'm so glad you came," Tyson said as he discretely glanced at Hilary.
"Hn" The blunette's eyes were still focused on Hilary, who swiftly turned away from him and walked away. Normally, she would have approached him and started a one sided conversation with him, but not anymore. She would no longer fool herself in believing that he actually cared about her. No, he made it perfectly clear that she meant nothing to him.
Even after she knew about Valentina, Hilary had tried to contact Kai. She wanted to at least maintain their supposed friendship. Yet, Kai never answered her calls, nor did he reply to any of her text messages. Would it have killed him to at least answer once?
Hilary didn't know what to feel about Kai's return, but she did know that she was tired of being ignored and doing the chasing. She wanted someone to like her and seek out her company for a change.
Hilary stalked towards her room, but froze when she felt a sharp pain in her legs. Darn, she had forgotten about her recent injury. The shock had made her forget all about her aching legs, but now it returned full force. She panted as she leaned against the wall for support.
She suddenly felt a pair of hands take hold of her shoulders. She gasped and turned to find Brooklyn looking at her in concern.
"Hilary, you should be more careful. Here let me help you," Brooklyn spoke softly as he gently pulled her against him. Hilary's eyes widened, but didn't struggle.
"You followed me." It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes, I was just so worried about you. You've only just woken up, and I feel like you've had enough to deal with for today," Hilary felt him tighten his hold on her. "Come on, let's take you to bed." Hilary smiled at his concern but shook her head.
"No, I haven't seen the guys in over a year. I want to see them." She had taken off without a word to anyone, and she still wanted to catch up with Max and Ray.
"I would prefer that you get some rest, but if that's what you want, I'll take you to them," Brooklyn sighed as he wrapped an arm around her waist to support her. He couldn't deny her this. It was perfectly understandable that she wanted to see her friends. However, he would have preferred her to stay in her room away from everyone else, especially him.
Brooklyn had noticed the way she reacted to Kai's appearance. It was obvious her heart was still wounded, and that hurt him. He had no idea if she still cared for the stoic blader. He desperately wanted to ask about her feelings for Kai, but he feared her answer. It tormented him to imagine her loving someone that was unworthy of her affections.
Kai's attention was solely on Hilary, and his eyes followed her until she disappeared from his sight. The blunette had an interest in her, what kind, he didn't know yet.
"Brooklyn?" Brooklyn looked at the beautiful woman resting in his arms and made up his mind. He had to confess his feelings. He had to tell her before Kai ruined everything.
The Bladebreakers were in the backyard catching up while the rest of the teams socialized. Max and Ray spoke of what they did throughout the year. Ray had been busy teaching beyblading and martial arts to the children of his village. Max had joined his mother in trying to create new launching gear since beyblading had become a huge hit in America.
"I heard you're still the world champion," Max commented and, as expected, Tyson's ego doubled in size.
"You heard correctly, Maxy. Mr. Dickenson said that I have made a record holding the championship title four times in a row. You are currently sitting next to a legend." Daichi narrowed his eyes angrily. That Tyson was always showing off.
"Shut up already, Tyson. The only reason you won the tournament was because I got sick. I couldn't battle to my fullest," Daichi growled.
"There's always an excuse with you Daichi." Tyson smirked and imitated Daichi in an overly high pitched tone. "I got sick, it was the earthquake's fault, I got distracted."
"That is not true!"
"You know it is!"
"Some things never change," Ray laughed. He had truly missed their antics.
They continued chatting, while the rest of their teammates mingled.
Kai stood away from everyone as he searched for Hilary. She left without a word, and that was not like her at all. She was probably tired, he concluded. Kai hadn't missed the bruises marring her usually unblemished skin, nor did he miss the bandages covering her entire legs. Someone gravely injured her, just the thought about it caused his blood to boil. What was that idiotic Tyson thinking? While, Hilary looked completely injured, Tyson didn't even have a scratch on him. He should have protected her, but it was obvious that he didn't. He would have a word with the moronic world champion.
It unnerved him that he worried about her, and ever since he left Japan, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Why? He didn't know. He just couldn't get those bright ruby eyes out of his head. Her tinkling laughter haunted his dreams, and it irked him that she was always in his thoughts. Valentina was his girlfriend, yet she never consumed his thoughts.
"Where's Hilary?" Max's question reached his ears. Kai focused his attention on Tyson, waiting for an answer.
"I noticed she left a while ago, but she hasn't returned," Ray added in concern.
"Oh, Hilary…she's umm…." Tyson exchanged glances with Kenny.
"She's resting," Kenny quickly answered.
"Tyson, Mr. Dickenson informed us that Hilary was seriously injured. What exactly happened?" Ray finally asked. The chatter stopped as everyone turned to look at the world champion expectantly.
Tyson didn't disappoint and went over the details of the attack, but he did gloss over some details about Hilary and Brooklyn's encounter with the bladers. He didn't really know how his friends would react in hearing that the girl they all cherished and adored was chummy with Brooklyn, especially Kai. Tyson didn't know what Kai thought about Hilary, but he did know that he was very protective of her. Telling him about Hilary's growing relationship with Brooklyn would surely end in disaster.
Kai watched Tyson carefully, he was hiding something. He was very vivid in his description about his attack with the bladers, but when he talked about Hilary's encounter he was rather vague. Everyone that knew Tyson would realize that he was always thorough with descriptions, but he seemed eager to finish the recount. What was he hiding?
"So where's Brooklyn?" Mystel stepped forward and asked. The only reason he had shown up was to see his old teammate, but he was nowhere to be found.
Kai didn't really care about Brooklyn, but now that he thought about it, where was he? Was it a coincidence that he disappeared at the same time Hilary did? Yes, it was most likely a coincidence, Hilary would never even dare approach Brooklyn, not after everything he did.
Just as he finished that thought, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned to glare at the person that dared touch him.
"Hilary's missing, shouldn't we keep an eye on her? I mean she is injured." Tala feigned concern and turned to Kai, who seemed to be in deep thought.
"Hn"
"And that maniac is also missing. I wonder what that means." Kai's eyes narrowed, so he wasn't the only one to notice the coincidental disappearance. "It's odd don't you think?"
"What is?" Kai asked indifferently, but if one looked closely, they would notice that Kai was losing his cool.
"Hilary and Brooklyn were attacked at the same time, meaning they were together, and now the dynamic duo is missing at the same time. What a coincidence, don't you agree Kai?"
The blunette wordlessly walked away, while Tala smirked victoriously. Now that he knew his weakness, Kai was so predictable. However, even if it provided him with entertainment, Tala wasn't just exploiting Kai's emotions for the fun of it. No, Tala was doing this because he knew that the ruby eyed brunette was the woman that Kai really wanted, even if he himself had not realized it yet.
It's true, Kai was in a relationship with a stunning woman, Valentina, but even with all her beauty and grace, she just couldn't compete against Hilary. Valentina never made him smile, and Kai seemed to care less about her. He ignored her most of the time, and he avoided physical contact at all costs. Tala knew that Valentina was a mere distraction, but he had always assumed it was because Kai felt lonely. Now he understood, Kai was using Valentina to get Hilary out of his head, and it was obviously not working.
Tala sighed as he watched Kai disappear from the room. He was beginning to question his decision to withhold information from Kai.
"I wonder," Tala put his hands in his pockets, "What will Kai do when he hears of Brooklyn's valiant rescue of little miss Hilary?"
"Did you say something?" Bryan asked as he suddenly approached him.
"Nothing at all," Tala answered as a thought came to him. If Brooklyn sacrificed himself so easily to save Hilary, did that mean that he had feelings for her? That had to be it! No man would risk his life for a mere acquaintance. Tala stared at Tyson as it dawned on him. Tyson was reluctant to talk about Brooklyn and Hilary because he knew. He knew that Brooklyn was infatuated with Hilary, but did she reciprocate?
"You better hurry Kai, or you will lose her."
Kai silently walked around the dojo hoping to run into Hilary or Brooklyn. He just hoped they weren't together because something told him that they were more than just acquainted. Hilary and Brooklyn, it seemed impossible to imagine. Yet, this was Hilary, she was more than able to captivate any guy with just a glimpse of those captivating ruby eyes. Hilary was kind, beautiful and funny, any guy would be lucky to have her.
Kai heard voices coming from upstairs and silently followed them. He heard Hilary's voice and for a moment he was overjoyed. However, that moment was short-lived as he felt a sharp pain in his chest when he finally saw her. Kai's eyes widened and his fists shook with an unidentified emotion, but he couldn't turn away.
Brooklyn was possessively embracing Hilary as he planted a kiss on her crimson cheek.